NATIONAL AND EUROPEAN IDENTITY, BULGARIAN BREAD, EMBROIDERY AND SONGS. GOOD PRACTICES IN SUPPORT OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND TERRITORY

Abstract

The Bulgarian national identity is experiencing various crises surrounding its formation. History and man are the pillars of the past, thanks to which the future is built. Man creates history while writing on its pages, and history speaks of man while he thinks about the present. Traditions bequeath the guidelines along which a community must follow in order to become a whole people. They are the ones that turn into words, and words are a story about national moments of peaks and troughs. The past of a people speaks the truths about its future.

The cultural impact of stereotypes and prejudices through the transmitted communicative messages has an impact on the formation of the Bulgarian national identity. Mediated communication is marked by the signs of prejudices and stereotypes. The need for continuous confrontation with the unknown, the unknown disappears. These products of mechanical thinking are guardians of the tradition, which is the foundation of the Bulgarian national identity, they are a kind of storehouse of collective thinking and beliefs. Significant examples of the art and culture of European civilization have been and are being created in our lands. Their eternal value enriches the life of our time. They build the Bulgarian contribution to the world of cultural values.

Cultural identity reflects the material and spiritual culture of every society and nation. Often it is undoubtedly a major factor in uniting the nation and a means of unifying it in times of crisis, instability and historical fluctuations. In a number of countries, instead of the concept of cultural identity, the term "socio-cultural identity" is used.